MOMENT OF INERTIA

 At the end of the lesson, you should be able

to:
 demonstrate the significance of moment of
inertia in structural analysis and design.
 compute the moment of inertia of any plane
figure.
 The strength of structural members depends to a
large extent on the properties of their cross
sections, particularly on the second moments, or
moments of inertia, of their areas.
 The moment of inertia of an object is a
measure of its resistance to change in
rotation.
 Everyday experience tells us that it is
harder to start (or stop) a large wheel
turning than a small wheel.
 It measures the ability to resist bending.
 The larger the moment of inertia the less
bending will occur.
 Moment of inertia is the name given to
rotational inertia, the rotational analog of
mass for linear motion.
 The moment of inertia must be specified
with respect to a chosen axis of rotation.
 Depends on Geometrical property and on
its reference axis.
 The smallest value occurs at the axis
passing through the centroid.
 For a point mass the moment of inertia is
just the mass times the square of
perpendicular distance to the rotation
axis, I = mr2.
 That point mass relationship becomes the
basis for all other moments of inertia since
any object can be built up from a collection
of point masses.
 For a point mass:
 Units & Signs:
 Moment of Inertia is a 4th-dimensional
term because it is a squared distance
multiplied by an area. Hence, the units of I
are m4, mm4, in4, or ft4.
 The sign of I is independent of the sign of
the moment arm r. If r is negative,
squaring it makes it positive.
 Definition:
 If M denotes the total mass of the
system, the positive number k defined by
the equation

 is called the radius of gyration of M with

respect to the axis
 Example:
 If masses of 2 and 3 units are
located at points (1,2) and (2,3)
respectively, find the moment of
inertia w.r.t. x-axis and w.r.t. y-axis.
 Find also the radius of gyration.
 Exercise:
 Find the moment of inertia and the radius of
gyration with respect to the given reference
axes.
 1. Masses of 1, 2, 5 units at (-1,2), (3,-2)
and (4,3) respectively. Ref axis x and y.
 The general form of the moment of inertia
involves an integral.
 The mathematical definition of moment of
inertia, I = ∫r2dA where r is the
perpendicular distance from dA to the axis
of inertia.
 It indicates that an area is divided into
small parts such as dA, and each area is
multiplied by the square of its moment arm
about the reference axis.
 As shown in the figure, if the coordinates of dA
are (x,y), the moment of inertia about X-axis is
the summation of the product of each area dA by
the square of its moment arm y.

Ix = ∫y2dA

 Similarly, the moment of inertia about Y-axis is,

Iy = ∫x2dA
 The moment of inertia is sometimes called
the second moment of area, because each
differential area multiplied by its moment
arm gives the moment of area, when
multiplied a second time by its moment
arm, it gives the moment of inertia.
M = Ar
I = (Ar)r = Ar2
 Example:
 For a rectangular area:

h
I x   y dA   y
2 2
bdy  3 bh
1 3
0
 Example:
 Find the moment of inertia of the
rectangles given below.

reference axis
 Example:
 Find the moment of inertia of the
rectangles given below.

2
5

reference axis
 Moment of inertia of common figures:
 Moment of inertia of common figures:
 Moment of inertia of common figures:
 Moment of inertia of common figures:
 Moment of inertia of common figures:
 Moment of inertia of common figures:
 Moment of inertia of common figures:
  The moment of inertia of a composite
area A about a given axis is obtained by
adding the moments of inertia of the
component areas A1, A2, A3, ... , with
respect to the same axis.

9 - 25
 The sign of I depends entirely on the sign
of the area.
 We shall define a positive area as one
which adds to the area of the figure,
 & a negative area as one which reduces
the area of the figure.
 For a net area, the moment of inertia
must always be positive.
  Radius of Gyration of an Area
• Consider area A with moment of
inertia Ix.
• Imagine that the area is
concentrated in a thin strip
parallel to the x axis with
equivalent Ix.
Ix
Ix  k x2 A kx 
A
kx = radius of gyration with
9 - 27 respect to the x axis
 Example:
 Find the moment of inertia and the radius of
gyration of the given homogeneous plane
region of density 1 with respect to the x-axis.

2
4
6
4

x
6
 Example:
 Find the moment of inertia and the radius of
gyration of the given homogeneous plane
region of density 1 with respect to the x-axis
and the y-axis.
 Parallel Axis Theorem:
 (Transfer Formula for Moment of
Inertia)
 It is often necessary to transfer the
moment of inertia from one axis to another
parallel axis.

I x  I x  Ad 2
 The equation states that for any area, the
moment of inertia with respect to any axis in the
plane of the area is equal to the moment of inertia
with respect to a parallel centroidal axis plus a
transfer term composed of the product of the
area multiplied by the square of the distance
between the axes.

I x  I x  Ad 2
 EXAMPLE:
 Compute the moment of inertia of the given figure
about the x–axis.
 EXAMPLE:
 Compute the moment of inertia of the given figure
about the x–axis.
 EXAMPLE:
 Compute the moment of inertia of the given figure
(a) about the x–axis, (b) about the y–axis.
 EXAMPLE:
 Determine the moment of inertia of the shaded
area with respect to the x axis.
 SOLUTION:
• Compute the moments of inertia of the bounding
rectangle and half-circle with respect to the x axis.
Rectangle:
I x  13 bh3  13 240120  138.2  106 mm4

Half-circle:
moment of inertia with respect to AA’,
I AA  18 r 4  18  904  25.76  106 mm4
moment of inertia with respect to x’,

4r 4 90 
 
I x  I AA  Aa 2  25.76  106 12.72  103 
a   38.2 mm
3 3  7.20  106 mm4
b  120 - a  81.8 mm
moment of inertia with respect to x,
A  12 r  12  90   
2 2
I x  I x  Ab 2  7.20  106  12.72  103 81.82
 12.72  103 mm2  92.3  106 mm4
 • The moment of inertia of the shaded area is obtained by
subtracting the moment of inertia of the half-circle from
the moment of inertia of the rectangle.

Ix  138.2  106 mm4  92.3  106 mm4

I x  45.9  106 mm4

9 - 37
 EXAMPLE:
 Compute the moment of inertia of the region
about the x –axis, given that R = 60 mm.
 EXAMPLE:
 Compute the moment of inertia of the region
about the x –axis.
 EXAMPLE:
 Determine the moments of inertia Īx and Īy of the
area shown with respect to centroidal axes
respectively parallel and perpendicular to side AB.
 ANSWER:
 First locate C of the area:
 ANSWER:
 Solve for Īx :
 ANSWER:
 Solve for Īy :
 EXAMPLE:
 Determine the moments of inertia Īx and Īy of the
area shown with respect to centroidal axes
respectively parallel and perpendicular to side AB.
 RESOURCES:
 Beer, Ferdinand P. and E. Russell Johnston Jr.
(2007). Vector Mechanics for Engineers:
Statics 8e. New York: The McGraw-Hill Co